Not Officially Reported Bv EC CAR. WELTON COOLEY Copyrght, !9M. by Doily Story Publishing Company “A number of years ago, while trac ing the movement of a registered pack age that had been lost in the mails," said the old secret service man. "I missed train connections and was forced to lay over for several hours in one of the cities in a certain southern state. So, as the local postmaster was a per. oral (riend of mine. I cai e.i upon him. "While we were conversing in his private office a young man entered and the postmaster presented him to me as his chief clerk. I have reasons for not revealing his identity, even at this late date, so I will give him the incorrect name of James Bradford. "As a matter of course I prefer, at all times, that my profession should be hidden from the pub ic and especial ly from government employes, but, un thinkingly. my friend introduced me on this occasion as a member of tbe secret service. "I was looking keenly into the young man's eyes and noticed him start and tremble. But lie Immediately regain ed his composure and offered me his i hand, which I clasped warmly. “I knew at once that h s was a guilty conscience. A thousand thoughts flashed through my mind. I tried to, | in some way, associate him with the case upon which l was working, but I could not do so since the missing package could not ha\e passed through his hands. "At this moment the postmaster was called from the room and I immediate ly determined to test the young man's nerve to the utmost. So I arose and clcs d the door. Then I tu ned to him. ‘Sit down.’ I said. ‘I wish to talk with you.' “I watched his face closely. I saw it grow suddenly scarlet, then pale, und l noticed that he clasped the arms of the chair so tightly that the nails were forced Into the wood. “But I was at a loss how to proceed. That he was guilty of some criminal act I felt assured from his agitation, but I had absolutely no theory upon which to work. “Determined to unravel the mystery upon which l had so accidentally stumbled, I felt disposed to allow him to nurse the evident fear that I was In possession of certain facts regarding the crime he had committed, whatever it might be. Yet, so far as possible, I desired to disabuse his mind of any thought that I suspected his connec tion with it. So, drawing a chair in front of him, I laid my hand upon his knee and said, in a confidential tone: “ ‘Mr. Bradford, it is true that I am an agent of the secret servlcp. But 1 beg that you will do me the kindness to keep that fact to yourself. I am here to Investigate certain irregular ities in this office and. since you know my mission, you may be of vast as sistance to me.’ “He promised to do my bidding, but while he seemed somewhat assured it was plain to see he was ill at ease. Then I dismissed him. "When the postmaster returned we continued our conversation. Present ly I referred to the business of the of fice and casually expressed a desire to eee the last statement of the postof flee inspector. My friend brought me a copy, it was dated but ten days pre viously and the accounts of the office were certified to as being apparently correct. “ 'That is a good showing.’ said I. ‘Who handles the funds of the office?’ “ ‘Mr. Bradford,’ he replied. “ ‘Is he married?' “‘Yes. He has an estimable wife and a beautiful baby boy.’ “ ‘Reliable man, I suppose?’ said I. “ ‘Perfectly. There is not a dishon orable hair in his head. He’s been em ployed in the office six years.' “The young man's reputation cer tainly seemed good, but 1 determined to shadow him. I did so. Without arousing suspicion 1 watched his every movement during the remainder of the day. I learned that he was alone in the office from six o’clock in the even ing until it closed at nine, and that it was ho who placed all the stamps and cash in the vault before closing for the night. “While idly Inspecting the office dur ‘‘Sit down," I said. lag the afternoon I discovered a knot hole in the board celling. The second floor of the building was divided into office rooms, and I found that the par tioular room, the floor of which con tained the knot-hole, was empty. I obtained the key under pretense or ex amining iae room with a view to rent lag. “To my delight I found that I could secure a good view at the post office by looking through the hole. So I rented the room, making a small payment. “That evening, from six o'clock un til nine, I lay on the floor with my eye to the hole, watching Bradford. “During the entire time he appeared nervous ar.d excited. In moments of leisure he would stare absently at the wall or at his desk, every feature of his face marked with despair and wretchedness. “Finally the hour for clcsing arrive !. I saw him lock the outside door; I saw him place the stamps in the vault and return with the money box. filled with bills and coin: I saw him count the small change that was in the money drawer in the desk: I saw him make a note of the amount and enter it in a book. “Then he glanced around the room, apprehensively, frightened, a wild look He gazed at it in silence. in his eyes and perspiration on his brow. "Suddenly he set his jaws together j determinedly and with feverish haste j filled his pockets with the bills and j silver. When he had emptied the box he placed it back in the vault and j closed and locked the door. Then he advanced a few steps and paused. "What thoughts must have passed through his mind at that moment as ho stood upon the threshold between honor and disgrace! Never before nor since have i seen such agony on a hu man face as T saw then. "Presently he staggered to his desk j and picked up a baby’s photograph, j For a few brief moments he gazed at it j in silence. Then he pressed it to his lips and, turning, reopened the vault, j took the money from his pocket, placed i it back in the box and locked the door. On his face was a bright gleam as of a great happiness and up from the depths of my heart there surged a cry, j 'God bless him!’ "With a smile on his face he turned ; out the light and I hurried from my hiding place. I met him at the door. He was startled when he recognized me, but I held out my hand. " ‘Bradford,’ said I, pressing his hand in mine, 'you couldn’t do it, could you?' " ’No,’ he said, a tremor in his voice, ‘I couldn't do it; I couldn't break my wife's heart and bring everlasting dis grace upon my baby boy.’ " 'Now, my boy,' said I, kindly, 'don't turn back. Tell me the rest— perhaps T can help you.’ , "He looked me in the eye a moment. Then he said: j i wm trust you, sir. 1 nave Been too extravagant in my living and have used about of the office funds. I did not intend to steal; I expected to make it good, but I do not see how I can. I decided to run away, but I can t do it, sir; I can't do it.’ “I rested my hand on his shoulder. ‘Bradford,’ said I, ‘I believe you are honest at heart. It is not too late to rectify your mistake. Go home now and go to bed. In the morning I will see what can be done.’ He looked at me with tears in his eyes. ‘Thank you, sir,’ he said. “Well," continued the old secret service man, after a pause, "I told the postmaster everything, but secured a promise from him to give Bradford another chance. Between us we made up the deficit, taking Bradford's notes. These notes were paid long since and to-day Bradford is holding an import ant government position and is entire ly trustworthy. As I had not been de tailed upon the case, I made no report of it. but I have always been thankful that 1 missed my train that morning.” Front st . Nome. It's a little zigzag street. Every building was erected according to an independent nation as to frontage and rearage. The effect is startling, and after negotiating a few blocks of it you feel like "the crooked man who walked the crooked mile.’’ On sun shiny days the entire population sal lies forth and occupies the sidewalk, overflows into the street and down the little byways onto the beach, with dogs filling all the Intermediate space on the ground floor. Seattle Times. Sunday of Different Nation*. Each day of the week is observed as Sunday by some nation. The first day of the week is our Christian Sunday; Monday is the sacred day of the Greeks; Tuesday is the holy day of the Persians; Wednesday of the Assyr ians; Thursday of the Egyptians: Fri day of the Turks, and SaVirday of the Jews. PRIMATE OF ALL ENGLAND. Nome Stories of the 1’reteJit Archbishop of Canterbury. Many are the stories of the courage and wit shown by the present arch bishop of Canterbury. I)r. Temple, in combating the attacks of the extreme high churchmen which followed the publication of his “Essays and Re views.” When he was nominated as bishop of Exeter, a writer in one of the Devon papers gave expression to the view that "the Tories disliked Dr. Temple's politics, and pretended that it was his religion they objected to.” Mr. Gladstone and the queen were un moved. Pretests against the conse cration were sent in by the bishops of Gloucester, Hereford. Lichfield and Lincoln. When the ceremony had been dtily_ performed, in spite of the vehe ment opposition of high churchmen and Tories in all parts of the country, one church newspaper said in an edi torial jeremiad “And so, on that darkest day in the whole year, was per petrated the darkest crime ever com mitted in the English church!” Such a sentence as this shows to what a height the animosity had run. Dr. Benson, the most intimate of all Tem ple's frieuds. thus described his bear ing during that memorable incident in Westminster Abbey: “Dear Temple's face was white as ashes, and his jet black hair and whiskers and the white and black of his robes made him look in his stillness a sad plight for a friend's oye to test upon. I [is licaithy bronze was quite gone, but he looked a true man.” Dr. Temple's temperance agitation exposed him to criticism from another source. He enjoys tell ing this story: In the west of England he one afternoon spoke at an agricul tural society's meeting—a kind of oc casion at which he was eminently at home from his knowledge of farming. Btn he could not miss the opportunity of giving some temperance hints and advice. He remarked, with his accus tomed grim humor, that “he himself had never been drunk in his life.” On his way home he heard the boys in the street with the papers shout ing "Remarkable statement of the bishop of Exeter." The headline w'as certainly a startling one. The bishop with some curiosity opened the paper to see what he had said, and found his phrase used as a special heading: “Never been drunk in his life!"—Wil liam Durban in London Outlook. SYSTEM IS STILL YOUNG. Electric Light* Were FI rut Seen at the Centennial Exposition. The electric light is new and yet Is so old that perhaps we do not appre ciate its marvelous achievement. If we will but recall the conditions lie fore it came we shall see what a won derful advance it has been in the field of applied science. Its use in theaters, in stores, in show windows, in street j illuminations, in private as well as in public, its application for lighting in all sorts of out-of-the-way corners, its divisibility into various degrees of power, its absolute safetv so long as the wires are properly guarded, its per fect sanitary qualities, the practical absence of heat and the entire absence j of odor are things that make one fee! ; that in the way of lighting we have | come perhaps to the last discovery. Yet \ this light was shown in this country for the first time at the centennial ex- 1 hibitlon—twenty-five years ago. And it is needless to say that those who saw it were skeptical of its praetka! use. Arc lighting was produced on a commercial basis in 1877. but the real beginning of eleetrie lighting in its modern aspects was with the opening of the Pearl street station of New York by Kdison in September. 1882. where the Edison incandescent lamp was used. In the nineteen years since then, according to a earefu! tabulation made by the Electrical Review, the invest ment in electric lighting plants in this country alone has reached the sum of $700,000,000. This wonderful industry has been established in this short time and we must now remember in the face of the organized and long-established competition of gas illumination, a pow erful and rich interest which until the adoption of electric light occupied the whole field for the best kind of light ing. —Indianapolis News. To Serve an Oyster Cock I nil. Charles Ranhofer, the celebrated chef of Delmonico's, declared until the last days of his life that there was nothing, aosolutely nothing, new in the culinary art; that no new dishes had been invented in fifty years; that the so-called new dishes were only old ones revived. Although the oyster cocktail was introduced in the chop houses of New York about two years before Mr. Ranhofer’s death he never included it in his list of dishes, and as his book was published before oys ters were served in this way, he does not mention the cocktail. Really, it Is only the fact of serving the oysters in a glass which gives the name to a cer tain way of seasoning raw oysters known for years among oysler deal ers along the Chesapeake shore and oven at the stalls in the New York oyster market. This is the way to prepare an oyster cocktail: Put seven medium-sized, freshly opened oysters in a tall, slender glass. Mix in a bowl three teaspoonfuls of tomato catsup, a teaspoonful of horse radish in white vinegar, four dashes of Tobasco sauce, a tablespoonful of Worcestershire sauce and a saltspoonful of salt. When those ingredients are well stirred to gether pour the mixture in the glass over the oysters and serve.—New York Press. A shipyard at Omlnbto, Japan, still In operation, was established 1900 [ years ago. OUR. NAVY, AS COMPARED WITH THAT OF GERMANY CERMAN C1RST-CLASS BATTLESHIP KAISER FRIEDRICH III. Displacement. 11,130 tons: speed, IS knots; armor belt. llr* inches; arma ment. four 9.4 inch rapid tires. IS 5.9-inch rapid flrers, 12 3.3 inch, 20 smaller; complement, 700 men. To this class belong the Kaiser Barbar ossa, Kaiser Wilhelm II. Kaiser Wil helm der Giosse and Kaiser Karl der Gio-se. The four ships of the Wit telsbach class are TOO tons larger, have the same armament, 19-knot speed, and improved armor. The new ships H and .1 will be of 13,000 tons, with heavier battery. Up to the present the United States and Germany have run almost neck and neck in their race to increase their navies. Germany has a definite pro gram, already appropriated for, pro viding an enormous increase in ships and men. She has a navy league of 5*56,141 members, which spent last year $223, 541 in agitation for still further naval increase. It has branches In Cuba. Porto Rico. Brazil, Mexico and Chile, beside seventeen other foreign coun tries. It gave 3.000 lectures last year, as one of a score of methods of arous ing interest. The United States has no organized navy league. The columns given below show the two navies as fairly as they can be compared, fighting ship for ship, without long statistical arguments giving reasons for the conclusions reached. In the first-class battleships ihose of similar periods are fair matches for one another; but two of either first period would have hard work to defeat one ot tne fourth. Germany's ships are in magnificent ’ondition. Not over half a dozen of ier older vessels named below are unfit to so into a brittle. New engines, new guns and new armor have reju venated several which were built twenty years or more ago. The bat tery power of all the later ships is enormous. I’lasr > i.as> r.ATri vswrs. OKUMANY First tVrlod. (In Service.) P.randeaburg Kurftirst Friedrich Wilhelm Weissenburg Woerth Second Period. (In Service.) Kaiser Friedrich 111 Kaiser Wilhelm II Kaiser Wilhelm der »«« .»♦■> »{<; rfr »v >;». ?!< »;» «[». .»»/.>*< AA IT the plans of a New York inventor ire carried out. as forecasted in the ■scientific American, from which pub lication the above picture is repro duced. the fast trains in their flight across the country will take on and unload passengers without even a j rheck in their speed, much as they do < mail bag - at rural stations. The characteristic feature of the in i vention resides in the employment of ! a number of "saddle cars," which are | successively taken up and dropped j from the moving train and through the medium of which passengers may en ter or leave a train without interrupt ing its movement. The railway cars employed are of the usual construction. Each car is pro j vidc-d on its roof with two rails, and the cars run on standard rails com monly employed. The rails on the -oof of the cars have their ends pro iectod beyond the ends of the cars and grooved latterly, so that the continu ty of the traik formed on the roof jf thp cars will not be broken on a nirve. These roof rails serve the pur pose of receiving the saddle car. Alongside of the rails upon which the ;assenger cur runs are arranged two “ails which receive lower Hanged vheels on the saddle car. These aux liary track rails do not extend con inuously throughout the length of the •ailroad track, hut are located only at he stations at which it is desired to oad and unload passengers. The aux .liary track rails are each provided i jvith raised portions adjacent to the :nds toward which the car is moved ind the ends of these auxiliary rails ire tapered. As the illustration shows, the roof ails on the front of the car are ta tered downward, so that they will eadily engage under the broad-faced vheels. One of the saddle cars is to >e placed at eai h station on the road. Vs the train approaches the station he tapered ends of the roof rails will ■un under the broad-faced upper vheels of the saddle car, and the sud lle car will be lifted ofT the auxiliary ;raok rails and carried away with the train. The saddle ear will ride along the top of the train, and by the time it has got. to the last ear will have as sumed the momentum of the train. The saddle car and train will be locked together, and then the passengers can pass from one to the other. As the train approaches the next sta tion the lower wheels of the saddle car will engage the raised part of the auxiliary rails and the saddle car will be lifted off the train, thus permitting the train to pass on and leave the sad dle car at the station. When the sad dle car is thus dropped the train im mediately runs into a second saddle car placed on the other pnd portions of the auxiliary truck rails and takes the second saddle car up with its passen gers. This operation is repeated at each station, one saddle car being left at each station and one saddle ear be ing taken up. By this arrangement the train may move without stop through the length of the road. The saddle ears, of course, are provided with brakes to arrest their movement at the desired point. Thera are in Boston 04,228 houses in ^ addition to 100 hotels and 558 familv hotels.